Intraarticular Hyaluronic Acid Injection after Microfracture Technique for the Management of Full-Thickness Cartilage Defects Does Not Improve the Quality of Repair Tissue

• Published in: Cartilage 2012-01, Vol.3 (1), p.20-26
• Main Authors: Gunes, Taner, Bostan, Bora, Erdem, Mehmet, Koseoglu, Resid Dogan, Asci, Murat, Sen, Cengiz
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Original
• ISSN: 1947-6035; 1947-6043
• DOI: 10.1177/1947603511408882

Objective: Tissue repair that occurs after microfracture does not include hyaline-like cartilage. Therefore, other treatment modalities must be combined with microfracture to improve repair tissue quality. In this study, we combined exogenous hyaluronic acid with microfracture. Design: Thirty mature New Zealand rabbits were randomly divided into 3 groups as control, microfracture (MF), and microfracture and hyaluronic acid (MFHA). Four-millimetre full-thickness cartilage defects were created in the medial femoral condyle of each rabbit. Microfracture was performed on defects in the MF and MFHA groups. At 1 week following surgery, 1 mL of saline was injected into the knees of the control and MF groups, whereas 1 mL (15 mg/mL) hyaluronic acid was injected into the knees of the MFHA group 3 times weekly. At 6 months postsurgery, defects were evaluated according to the ICRS (International Cartilage Repair Society) and Wakitani scales. Results: According to the ICRS and Wakitani scales, the quality of repair tissue was improved in MF and MFHA groups as compared the control group (P = 0.001 and 0.001, respectively). No significant difference was observed between the MF and MFHA groups (P = 0.342). Conclusions: According to the model in this study, no beneficial effect was obtained when HA injection was combined with microfracture in the treatment of full-thickness cartilage defects.